THE L1JINI OF LEGMAN°.
legnano Thursday, March 23d, 1860.
i Sra—Havg heard in Germany and subsequently read in the Gazzetta Gffiziak di Venezia, of December the 19th, that the Bernardino Luini, in Bramante's beautiful octagonal church, at this place, had at last been pur- chased on account of England for 800,000 francs, I resolved, in the event of my reaching Milan, to inquire at the fountain head how the matter really stood. The picture is still here. Having brought from Milan an introduc-
tion to the gentleman here best qualified to satisfy my curiosity, I spent
some time with him yesterday evening and this morning, when he freely communicated to me every particular. Rumour had doubled a preposterous offer. Through the agency of one Carlo Taddeo of Pavia, late mine host in this venerable seat of learning, at that sign of purity and victory, the Croce Bianca, and again, through the agency of an agent here, of this agent, &c., &c., the entire squad being marshalled by ex-agent, Herr Otto Miindler, who, the Chevalier Eastlake propitious retaliates our uncerimonious treat- ment of him, by !till waging against us his remorseless activity, the " figure " effered for this picture is 300,000 francs (anglice, 12,0001.), plus, a hint that another 100,000 of the same insignificant coin (16,000/.) might possibly be found ; the latest feeler having been put forth within the last fortnight. What the late " Commissaire-Expert et Agent de la Galerie Nationale de Londres," as he fondly used to print it, and his pickets are to "divide" over and above for their " trouble ' I have not fathomed, but the Family of Darius, happily furnishes a "precedent" for douceurs, commensurate with the dignity of the fundamental transaction. Thus, with this hedge of agents to veil his countenance, John Bull may doze secure, that if items, choice, and fiavourous as Madonna-Caterina Rini, Count Pisani's femme-de- chambre, and Angela Dorigo Piaanrs porter's wife grace not the " Luini " bill, there will at least not be wanting a sturdy phalanx of lackeys.
When I visited Legnano, in 1857, the sum that had then been tendered for this " Luini " was 151,000 francs (60001.), a BUIll fell a third above its value, even taking into acount its ricapito, or place of derivation, the me- ridian test of Art, with our pedigree purveyors. This offer having been re- jected, the Fabbriceria (Board of Churchwardens) was invited to name a price. "A million of francs" was the pithy reply. "Una mere bagatelle per la Regina Vittoria d'Inghllterra!"—a mere bagatelle for Queen Victoria of England ! The " Pisam Paul," 14,0001. freak, or to speak with sobriety, 13,6501. =twice of packing, insurance, freight, framing, and other sundries, (since' in his dirge over Herr Miindler, on this personage's sudden official extinction in 1858, by a vote of the House of Commons, the Chevalier Eastlake so bitterly and so reasonably denounced the imputation of 14,0001. as a wicked libel,) is graven in the continental brain as the pivot of all fu- ture British picture-marketing. It will not be amiss to quote here what Vasari, a contemporary and friend of the greatest artists of the golden age of Italian Art, and by far the most authoritative writer on Art of modern times, says of the Lombard School in general, and of Luini in parti- cular. Discoursing of Benvenuto Garofalo, he says :— " Arrived, at Rome, Benvenuto was not only amazed, but almost in des- pair on seeing the grace and vigour which the pictures of Raphael possessed, and the profundity of Michael Angelo's design. Wherefore, he cursed (malediva) the Lombard mariner, and, had he been able, would willingly have erased from his memory that which with so much study and toil he had learned at Mantua. But as there was nothing else to be done, he re- solved to unlearn, and after the loss of so many years, from master to be- come disciple. Therefore, having begun to draw from those things which were best and most difficult, and to study with all possible diligence the manner BO greatly commended, he for the space of two consecutive years scarcely attended to aught else; by which lie so changed the bad practice and manner (la jirattica e maniere cattiva) into good, that he came to be held in account by artists ; and, what was more, he so endeared himself by his humility and by every affectionate service, as to become the friend of Raphael of Urbino, who most kind and never ungrateful, taught him many things, always helped and favoured Bonvenuto, who' had he continued the practice of Rome, would, without any doubt, have achieved things worthy of his fine talent."
Adverse family circumstances compelled Garofalo to quit Rome, and settle in his native city. Selecting Luini's extensive work at the Monastero Maggiore, in Milan, this, and the one at Lugano, being Luini's most con- siderable performances'. Vasari calls it, "and many other works" (e molte altre opere),of this master, simply "Tagionevoli," an'expression equivalent to "fair," "creditable," "average,' and the like. I humbly concur with the Aretine biographer and critic, and am so rash as to consider Michael Angelo's friend and disciple as respectable an authority as " Kugler's Hand- book," or even as the learned English translation of it "with notes." The reader, however, must neither forget that Luini is here rated as compared with the greatest luminaries of modern art, nor that Leonardo da Vinci, al- though so intimately connected with Lombardy, was always strictly a Flo- rentine, not a Lombard painter.
The Legnar Luini does not confute Vasari. Its claims are represented by the term ragionevole." We find here the habitual brownness and heaviness of colouring, the stereotyped boneless, smirking boys, unmascu- line character where virility is essential, tameness of expression and design, absence of style as regards form. Even the Virgin's head, which rises con- siderably above the rest of the work, is still but a faint reflection of Leo- nardo. I would have given a description of its several compartments, but that I have already exceeded the space which I had prescribed to myself. If required, I can supply the omission on a future occasion.
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